Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge says his side has plenty of work to do after slumping to its fourth loss of the season following a nail-biting one-point defeat to Adelaide.

Last year's Grand Finalists have struggled to string together consistent performances, and are also battling a lengthy injury list, with the likes of Josh Bruce, Mitch Hannan, Lachie Hunter, Jason Johannisen, Alex Keath, Toby McLean, Mitch Wallis and Laith Vandermeer unavailable this weekend.

"We've just got to stay positive, we have some challenges on our hands in various shapes and forms. We have to credit Adelaide, their pressure game was very good, for a team to take 26 intercept marks, I don't think that's ever happened to our team over the journey," Beveridge said.

"There were times we didn't use the footy that well or were pressured into error, which we credit them with, but there were other times when we needed to be a bit better.

"It's a considerable inside-50 differential loss (15), which we aren't normally faced with, which again, you have to give them credit for that.

"We felt like they strangled us, didn't let us play with any fluency, and in the end, a point is gut-wrenching, but they deserve the win, the way they played, and obviously our guys are really disappointed.

"Where our problem had been completing plays and kicking goals, that obviously happened early in the game, but this afternoon we just didn't create enough opportunities, and our forwards were soundly beaten. 

"It was great to establish a bit of chemistry last week with a different forward line to what we had at the start of the season, but today we looked a fair way off it there, unfortunately, so we've got a fair bit of work to do."

The Bulldogs will next turn their attention to Essendon on Sunday 1 May at Marvel Stadium.